


metal fingers

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Daichi's POV, M/M, Mild Angst, Progressive, actually for me it was very big angst but w/e, blood shows up very briefly, dont worry i'll get into that later maybe, finger brace, jawa and machen are in an established relationship in my head but you can see it as whatever, jawa and machen are literally my bebs, they alternate between queerplatonic and romantic, they're my volleyball OCs and have their own OC team, this whole thing is kinda like a timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 05:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4250511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Daichi first saw Jawashinou Seto, the boy had been crying in front of his mother, and his fingers had been trapped in a metal brace that Daichi would see again and again throughout the years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	metal fingers

The first time Daichi saw Jawashinou, he was ten.

His stuffs his hands in the pockets of his winter jacket due to the cold, and he quickly shuffles down the sidewalk towards his school, head ducked. Daichi's four blocks away when he hears the crying - loud, racking sobs that crackle through the air from the building to his right, a doctor's office. Outisde stood a boy, about a year or two younger than himself, cheeks flushed from the cold and from the tears that ran from his eyes while his mother clutches his wrists. 

" _You can't take it off, Seto,_ " she begs, but the brown-haired boy - _Seto_ \- continues to writhe in her grasp, lips twisted in pain. Daichi became aware that he had stopped to look at them as she spoke again. " _It's for your own good, babe! We don't want your fingers to stay like that forever!_ " Something clinks, tinny in the air, and only then did Daichi spy the source of Seto's crying. 

Shackled to his fingers on both hands was a metal device - a brace, maybe - spanning out like a spiderweb from thin metal bands around his wrists. Smaller bands encircle each knuckle, with a thin rod connecting them with in a straight line. _To keep the joints from bending,_ Daichi thinks. He can see how red and aggravated Seto's hands were, and if he squinted, he could see angry scars puckered along the skin of his fingers. 

Seto's mom looked up from her son and caught Daichi staring, and for a moment, he felt shameful that he had stopped to watch them instead of minding his own business. But instead of scolding him, she gave a small, weak smile and shrugged, as if to say, _What can I do?_ , while Seto sobbed before her, obviously in pain as he repeated, " _Take it off, please Mama, take it **off**_."

Daichi turned his head and resumed his trudge to school, faintly wondering if he was going to be late for the first bell. 

_____

The second time Daichi saw Jawashinou, he was thirteen. 

Another boy was with him this time, arm slung around the brunette's shoulders while they walked down the cereal aisle of the grocery store. Daichi hesitated at the end of the aisle, watching their backs, listening to their conversation. "It's cool," the blonde friend was saying, smiling widely while they stopped in front of the cheaper cereals. Seto grumbled, scowling slightly. "Don't worry about it, Seto! You'll have it off in a couple years, five at most!"

"But it _hurts_ " Seto whined, reaching up for a red box of _Rice Crisps_ that sat on the top shelf. The blonde's arm dropped from around his shoulders. Daichi saw the same contraction attached to his fingers and wrists, although a little bigger, probably because of his growth. The scars were no longer red and puffy, but light pink against his tanned skin. 

"I know, Seto," his friend sighed. "I wish I could do something about it. But hey - hopefully you'll get used to it." 

Daichi left before either of them could notice him lingering, but not before hearing Seto mumble, "Three years should've been enough for me to get used to them, Machen."

_____

The third time Daichi saw Jawashinou, he was fifteen.

He was with the same friend - Machen, and how Daichi remembered, he'd never know - while he walked the greenway around the park. The lack of braces on Seto's hands startled him a bit, however. 

It became clear why they were missing when Machen spun the volleyball in his hands, bringing Daichi's attention to the net stretched over the sandy pit - _it's a sand court_ , he realized - and laughed out, "I'm really bad at serves, Seto. You know we've only been playing for like, a few weeks, right?" 

Seto snorted, bending his knees. "Duh. But how're we gonna get better if we don't practice outside of the court? Come on - just serve the ball!" The blonde sighed, rolling his eyes heavily, but he backed up a bit and raised the ball. The serve was slightly shaky, barely getting over the top of the net, but Seto moved quickly to receive it, despite it coming up short. It bounced messily against the boy's forearms, but at least he got it, cheering as it arched over the net and...

Landed out of bounds. 

Machen laughed loudly, grinning wide, and even Seto ditched the brief frown for a happy smile before calling out, "Again, Machen! I want to get it right before try-outs - school starts in a week!"

Daichi continued on his walk after several more serves-and-receives, somewhat satisfied and somewhat proud even though he's never spoken to either of them, and probably never will.

_____

The fourth time Daichi saw Jawashinou, he was sixteen. 

Both Seto and Machen were on the court below him, the former in _libero_ clothing, the latter muttering just loud enough for Daichi to hear as he stood in the stands with the rest of Karasuno, the other first-years beckoning him towards the one empty seat, "Shouldn't you be wearing your braces? We're not set to play for another thirty minutes." Seto shrugged, smiling softly before turning so that his back was to Daichi and he had to lean against the railing to hear. "The doctor says I only have to wear it at night now," the brunette responded happily, and Machen whooped, throwing himself forward to hug Seto in excitement.

Seto laughs, arms coming up to circle around his friend's waist - _intimate_ \- and Daichi wonders if they're _more_ than friends. 

He watches how the two work together during their game - Machen turns out to be a wing-spiker for their team, Kinimou Junior High - and wonders if they'll get far in both their relationship and their volleyball career, before Sugawara is tugging him from the railing and into the saved seat.

_____

The fifth time Daichi sees Jawashinou, he's seventeen. 

It's on the court again , during another tournament, but this time, both Seto and Machen are in Okamige High, and it's during a time out for Daichi's own match. 

He glances to the court on his right, seeking out the two from when he saw them warming up upon first arriving, sweat dripping from his brow. Ukai is giving them a strategy talk, and he knows he should be listening, because they're a couple points behind, but he's too focused in Okamige's game. He tracks Seto as he moves quickly towards the center of the court, getting ready in case the blockers can't stop the ball about to be spiked by the opposing team. 

It's not a second later that the thought comes true, the ball slamming past the middle blocker's outstretched hands and towards the far left side of the court, but the _libero_ , Seto, dashes frantically towards it, reaching to keep it from touching the ground.

The ball hits his fingers like a sledgehammer, a distinct snap sounding from beneath the leather, and for a moment, everything is white static, and Daichi can't breathe. 

And then Seto's screaming, tripping forward on his own feet and handing hard on his side while he curls inwards, hands held to his chest. The ball falls to the ground, forgotten. Everyone is crying out, shouting and yelling " _Jawa!_ " and " _Seto!_ " and there's a time out and Machen is dragging him off the court and there's a small trail of blood smearing after Seto - _Jawa_ , Daichi realizes. And when Jawa lifts his hands, sobbing from the sheer _agony_ he must be feeling, Daichi feels his stomach turn to stone and drop like a weight. 

Because Jawa's hands are bloody and red and his fingers are crooked - _broken_ \- and not even a brace can fix that and everyone on his team knows it and Machen begins to cry for him and Daichi feels like crying too when he watches the blonde shakily drop to his knees and gather Jawa in his arms. He doesn't know if Okamige can play anymore, despite having a backup _libero_. He doesn't think they want to, anyways.

"Hey," Suga says, nudging him. Daichi looks back and notices that the speech Ukai had been giving had trailed off, everyone looking at the despair of the team next to them. "Did you know him?" Suga continues, and from the corner of his eye, he can see Hinata turn to listen.

Daichi swallows hard, blocking out the choking cries coming out of Jawa's mouth as somebody shrieks for a doctor, high-pitched and hysterical. 

"No," he says. "I don't."

_____

The sixth time Daichi sees Jawashinou, it's a week later. 

Jawa's hands are plastered in casts, covering up everything from his forearms to the tips of each finger, eyes staring at the ground as Machen sits on the sofa by his side, pulling at Jawa's shoulder and begging him to look up. 

"Seto, please, please look at me," the blonde pleads, and Daichi wants to run away, far far away, so he can never seen Machen's broken expression or Jawa's dead eyes ever again. "You can still be involved! You can be a manager, or you can become a coach after you graduate! It doesn't have to be over." 

Jawa curls farther into himself, drawing his hands up to his chest and hunching his back as the floodgates break.

"But I can't play," he whispers, barely loud enough for Daichi to hear. "And that's all that matters." 

Daichi turns on his heel and exits the quiet library, a sick feeling in his gut and a block in his throat. 

_At least he won't have metal fingers anymore,_ he thinks as he pushes past the entrance doors and meets Suga on the sidewalk.

**Author's Note:**

> yo so idk where this all came from but it was right after i finished watching Haikyuu!! and was beginning the manga when i came up with Jawa and Machen (my bebs). their team is called Okamige, and the mascot is a wolf (okami = wolf). jawa is the libero and machen is the wing-spiker (kinda like noya and asahi's relationship except jawa and machen are a lot more public) so there you go
> 
> ALSO i THINK i may switch from past to present? (ie. laughed -> laughs) a lot and i was going to go back and fix it but then i thought NAH so sorry


End file.
